Freewriting: Vampire
The spells that bound him to human service gave him time to think, and he thought about anger and violence and his work, hunting for the humans. The humans did not like him. He returned the favor.
Then, one day, he thought about going down to the town for an evening walk, just to see the people, not to harm a soul, and the spells did not restrict him. After that, his life changed. Working carefully around the orders and attention of his masters, he took walks, joined AA, and began taking a scheduled two nights off a week. He made friends, who recommended modern books and movies, and asked him to look in and water their plants.
He bought a cactus, and hacked into the military database to register himself as a contractor. David T. Silver was dark haired, dark eyed, and in charge of hazardous waste disposal. He worked nights, and filled out his timesheet every week.
David was the name of a priest the vampire had killed. He'd impressed him, at the time.
Without really meaning to, David started making friends at the base, as well. Easy enough, when he was in the habit of smiling easily and saying hello as he passed on by, or stopped for a bite to eat at the cafeteria. (Coffee, not anything solid. He liked the bitterness.)
Then came the day that one of his new friends from the base came along as a meatshield on an Institute mission, and she blinked at him and started to say, "D-"
"Silver on duty, Watson."
"What the hell?"
"That's above your paygrade. Suffice to say I'm a specialist."
At which point his handler ordered them both to shut up, and Silver had to obey.
He restricted himself to human levels of violence and skill. Oh, impressive human levels of violence and skill, but human nontheless. He didn't compromise the mission. It was fun, a bit of a challenge, and Sally Watson watched him with respect but not fear on the van ride back. He didn't even have any blood on him.
"You know him?" one of Silver's regulars asked Watson.
"Well, sure," she said, "I mean, I've seen him around the base."
He let the rest of their conversation slide by him. She was warned he was a vampire, but he saw the lack of understanding in the set of her shoulders, the way she touched his arm as she exited the van. Camaraderie, once established, was hard to root out.
In his free time, he read about computers and networks. A little bit of magic to smooth the way, and he found his way into the Institute's computers that governed his program. Certain parts of the normal operating procedure were edited. Nothing too obvious, but the next time he got a new handler the by-the-book child used the 'revised procedure.' Instead of ordering the first time, a polite 'would you please' and a mission briefing folder were forthcoming. Level zero of restraint, in which some form of mutual respect was imitated, was a nice little invention. Oh, he still had his temper, and they ended up on level four within three months because the kid was edible-looking and didn't have the sense god gave pickled herring to stay out of his way when his blood was up, but the kid worked through it and got them back to level one, and then one day he sat waiting for restraints and the kid looked at him, smiled tentatively, and said, "Would you come with me, please? The lab wants to test a few things today."
He shrugged, getting to his feet, rolling his shoulders. It was a question, not a command. He took his time.
"Sure, why not."
They walked over to the lab building together, and David thought about names and restraints and having all the time in the world.
Then, one day, he thought about going down to the town for an evening walk, just to see the people, not to harm a soul, and the spells did not restrict him. After that, his life changed. Working carefully around the orders and attention of his masters, he took walks, joined AA, and began taking a scheduled two nights off a week. He made friends, who recommended modern books and movies, and asked him to look in and water their plants.
He bought a cactus, and hacked into the military database to register himself as a contractor. David T. Silver was dark haired, dark eyed, and in charge of hazardous waste disposal. He worked nights, and filled out his timesheet every week.
David was the name of a priest the vampire had killed. He'd impressed him, at the time.
Without really meaning to, David started making friends at the base, as well. Easy enough, when he was in the habit of smiling easily and saying hello as he passed on by, or stopped for a bite to eat at the cafeteria. (Coffee, not anything solid. He liked the bitterness.)
Then came the day that one of his new friends from the base came along as a meatshield on an Institute mission, and she blinked at him and started to say, "D-"
"Silver on duty, Watson."
"What the hell?"
"That's above your paygrade. Suffice to say I'm a specialist."
At which point his handler ordered them both to shut up, and Silver had to obey.
He restricted himself to human levels of violence and skill. Oh, impressive human levels of violence and skill, but human nontheless. He didn't compromise the mission. It was fun, a bit of a challenge, and Sally Watson watched him with respect but not fear on the van ride back. He didn't even have any blood on him.
"You know him?" one of Silver's regulars asked Watson.
"Well, sure," she said, "I mean, I've seen him around the base."
He let the rest of their conversation slide by him. She was warned he was a vampire, but he saw the lack of understanding in the set of her shoulders, the way she touched his arm as she exited the van. Camaraderie, once established, was hard to root out.
In his free time, he read about computers and networks. A little bit of magic to smooth the way, and he found his way into the Institute's computers that governed his program. Certain parts of the normal operating procedure were edited. Nothing too obvious, but the next time he got a new handler the by-the-book child used the 'revised procedure.' Instead of ordering the first time, a polite 'would you please' and a mission briefing folder were forthcoming. Level zero of restraint, in which some form of mutual respect was imitated, was a nice little invention. Oh, he still had his temper, and they ended up on level four within three months because the kid was edible-looking and didn't have the sense god gave pickled herring to stay out of his way when his blood was up, but the kid worked through it and got them back to level one, and then one day he sat waiting for restraints and the kid looked at him, smiled tentatively, and said, "Would you come with me, please? The lab wants to test a few things today."
He shrugged, getting to his feet, rolling his shoulders. It was a question, not a command. He took his time.
"Sure, why not."
They walked over to the lab building together, and David thought about names and restraints and having all the time in the world.